How to choose a graphic card for mining?

Do you want to set up your first mining rig or to improve your gear ? Would you like to know which graphics cards are the most cost-effective for mining cryptocurrencies? In this article, you will find a list of the most productive GPU on the market.

Be aware that all are not equal. At equal computing power, the productivity of 2 different graphics cards will vary depending on the cryptocurrency you choose to mine.

As a reminder, graphics card are THE components that you should not try to make huge savings on, since the profitability of mining comes from the power (hash rate) of a graphic card.

Be aware that it is still possible to mine, for a much lower cost than those shown in the comparison, with less powerful graphics cards . However, you will have to consider a large efficiency gap, which will not allow you to optimize your exploitation enough to face the strong competition in the mining sector. Still, if your budget doesn’t allow you to have a high-performance rig, you can start with a more than respectable price/performance ratios card.

AMD or Nvidia: Which is better for mining ?

This may be the first thing everyone who wants to start mining think about. There are clearly two schools in the world of graphics cards. On one side we find the pro Nvidia and on the other side the pro AMD. I personally am a user of Nvidia and in the context of video games I have a preference for this brand but I will try to provide the most neutral analysis possible.

Although Nvidia is said to be the best graphics cards manufacturer for gaming, several features of AMDGPUs seems to make them better solutions for crypto mining. Indeed, AMD graphics cards show better performances due to the higher number of UALs running slower than Nvidia cards, which operate with fewer UALs at a faster clock speed. This allows AMD to get an advantage in terms of computing speed. In addition, a single instruction is required for mining using the SHA-256 algorithm. It makes AMD cards more intuitive for miners than Nvidia ones that need 3 instructions.

Power consumption

To mine properly one should take into account the electricity consumption factor. Indeed, many miners have gone broke for not taking sufficient account of the necessary electricity cost.

Concerning graphic cards, although AMD GPUs are cheaper and more efficient than the competition, Nvidia cards, because of their low power consumption, are still smart choices in the long term.

The important Criteria to determine the profitability of a mining graphics card

Some criteria are to be considered in order to find out which graphics card you should select for your rig equipment.

Price: It is an important criteria because you can know the potential of graphics cards by doing ratio with other criteria, such as those presented below.

Hash rate: expressed as the number of hashes per second, this is the mining power that the graphics card generate in order to validate and to write blocks in the blockchain.

Electricity: As previously said this criterion must be strongly taken into account in order to optimise the profitability of your rig. Indeed, many graphics cards are not optimised for mining since they consume too much electricity compared to the power they can generate. The goal being to mine as many cryptocurrencies as possible with the least electricity consumption.

The amount of RAM memory: Another criterion to remember is the amount of RAM memory available on a graphics card. Indeed, some crypto-currencies such asEthereum for example require at least 3 GB to be able to mine it. Other cryptocurrencies such as Zcash or Monero can be mined using a graphics card of at least 2 GB.

Now you know which criteria to consider.

Discover the graphics cards that will allow you to mine profitable crypto-currencies in the table below:

NVIDIA GTX 1070 26Mh/s | Overclock 30Mh/s

In addition to its more than decent gaming performance, the NVIDIA GTX 1070 has an important hash rate of 30Mh/s. Its low energy consumption coupled with its cleverly designed ergonomic make this card a strategic choice for future lucky buyers.

Average cost : 505$

Buy a Nividia GTX 1070

NVIDIA GTX 1070 TI 32Mh/s

The NVIDIA GTX 1070 TI, like its little sister the NVIDIA GTX 1070, is excellent for mining. The small difference in price/performance ratio between these two cards is a very interesting choice for people with a higher budget.

Average cost :527$

Buy a Nividia GTX 1070TI

NVIDIA GTX 1080TI 11GB 32Mhs => Overclock 35/37 Mh/s

The GTX 1080Ti is one of the best solution for mining. Indeed, its excellent quality ensures a long service life, which is very important for future owners. Despite the price, the quality/price ratio is still more interesting than the previous graphic cards. Its 32Mh/s hash rate easily accepts overclocking optimisation, thus increasing its performance by 30 to 50%, notably through memory unblocking from 300MHz to 900Mhz. For the bravest, you can also overload the RAM memory with 750MH/s. NB: be sure to check the power as well as the core.

With an optimised configuration of the mining tools and the graphics card, it is not uncommon to see results boasting a hash rates approaching 50/55Mh/s. However, be careful before making any changes!

In the next article we will show you an example of optimisation that we have done with a 1080ti GTX to obtain a hash rates of 55Mh/s

Average cost :897$

Buy a Nividia GTX 1080TI

AMD Radeon RX 570

The AMD Radeon RX570 clearly deserves its place among the best graphics cards for mining. This card has won over many miners, which make it difficult to find because of the stock shortages that specialised shop have encountered. With an average hash rate of 25Mh/s that can reach 30Mh/s without overclocking with a good configuration, the RX 570 not only consumes very little fuel, but it is much more affordable than a GTX 1070. With a good overclocking control, just imagine the power you could gain.

Average cost :190$

Buy an AMD Radeon RX 570

AMD Radeon RX 580

Similar to the GTX 1070, the AMD Radeon RX580 is an improved version of the RX 570. With its generous 30Mh/s and its low power consumption compared to the competition, the RX 580 is the choice of many miners. It is indeed preferred to the GTX 1080 Ti for its very affordable price. The RX 580 remains in 2019, one of the best GPUs for crypto mining.

Average cost :245$

Buy an AMD Radeon RX 580

Which card to buy for which currency ?

To calculate the profitability of a map, you can use a website like Whattomine. This type of website will help you calculate the profitability of a graphics card based on the currency you want to mine, using different criteria such as your equipment, the difficulty of mining a currency, and the cost of electricity.

Other methods can be useful to make the best purchasing decision, it will be the subject of the next article. In the meantime, feel free to comment on your experience and share the article with your friends and family to help them choose the right graphic card. See you soon!

Passionate about digital technologies and thanks to my experiences as advisor in the crypto sector, my goal is to popularize this fascinating but nevertheless vague world to the general public as simply as possible